Faith CoLab: Tapestry of Faith: Exploring Our Values Through Poetry: A Program for High School Youth

Alternate Activity 1: Face Forward

Activity time: 30 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • An instant camera and enough film for an individual photograph of each participant
  • Arts and crafts materials for a bulletin board or other gallery-style display

Preparation for Activity

  • Identify a space in which to display self-portraits when participants have completed them

Description of Activity

Participants randomly display self-portraits, with portrait photographs, inviting viewers to match two views of the same face.

After participants have completed their self-portrait poems, tell the group you would like to display them along with photographs of each participant in a random way that invites viewers to guess which self-portrait poem belongs with which portrait photo.

Ask for volunteers to take on the following roles:

  • Collect the self-portrait poems from each participant
  • Design the display space and create signage to explain the display
  • Take instant photographs of each participant whose self-portrait will be displayed
  • Add the photographs to the display
  • Create a key that identifies which poem goes with which portrait photo

Invite the group to collaborate on what the display's signage should say. Tell participants how much time they have to complete the display project, and distribute the camera, film, and arts and crafts materials to the individuals who will use them.

Monitor progress, and be sure to leave time for cleanup before dismissing the group. If the group would like to review the guesses viewers made, devise a method for the results to be reported. For example, assign a number to each self-portrait and a letter to each photograph. Create small slips of paper on which letters and numbers can be matched. Place the slips of paper, along with several pencils, beside a box in the gallery area.

It is also fine if the group decides not to know the guesses.